A computer-based aid for communication between patients with limited English and their clinicians, using symbols and digitised speech.

Background: Problems of communication are an important barrier on the pathway to healthcare for patients with limited or no ability in the majority language of the country in which they live. Solutions involving interpreters who have to be booked in advance, or using unqualified friends or family members to translate, are highly unsatisfactory.

Aim: This paper describes a computer-based approach to alleviating the situation.

Association between antenatal depression and low birthweight in a developing country.

Objective: There is a high prevalence of depression in south Asian women. We aimed to examine the association between antenatal depression and low birthweight (LBW) in infants in a rural community in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.

Method: A total of 143 physically healthy mothers with ICD-10 depression in the third trimester of pregnancy and 147 non-depressed mothers of similar gestation were followed from birth.

Maternal depression increases infant risk of diarrhoeal illness: --a cohort study.

Aims: To examine the associations between postnatal depression in mothers and diarrhoeal illness in their infants in the first year of life in a low-income country.

Methods: Using a prospective cohort design, 265 infants (n = 130 of mothers having a depressive episode according to the International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision, at 3 months postnatal and n = 135 of psychologically well mothers) living in rural Rawalpindi, Pakistan, were followed up for 1 year. Frequency of diarrhoeal episodes was measured fortnightly by health workers using a standard questionnaire.

Geographical variation in neonatal phenotype.

Background: Recent studies have shown associations between size and body proportions at birth and health outcomes throughout the life cycle, but there are few data on how neonatal phenotype varies in different populations around the world.

Methods: Data from the UK, Finland, India, Sri Lanka, China, DR Congo, Nigeria, and Jamaica (n=22,067) were used to characterize geographical differences in phenotype in singleton, live-born newborns. Measurements included birth weight, placental weight, length, head, chest, abdominal and arm circumferences, and skinfolds.